Pepper Design Blog

Halloween Table Decor Round Up

We’re preparing for our annual Halloween dinner party this coming Sunday and I’ve pulled together a quick round up of a few of the amazing *spookified* table settings & dessert bars that have caught my eye:

This glam Halloween dessert bar by TomKat Studios mixes in nontraditional lavender, lime and glitterfied decor to a create a fun, creative spread.

Sandra of The White Library created an equally chic tablescape full of spiders & crows. Rich jewel tones provide a much friendlier alternative to your everyday Halloween color palette, proving that the holiday doesn’t have to be all about gore to be spooky and fun.

Katie recently showcased her orange and grey kid’s dessert buffet on Celebrations at Home – simple, clean, beautiful!

Anna and Blue created a delicious dessert buffet with similar colors in mind. Check out all of the great diy projects from this party at Hostess with the Mostess.

Finally, Sweets Indeed designed a delectable feature that’s full of Victorian-esq details – including lace patterned cookies, paper products, black swags and even filigree-inspired icing. More on table decor and those mouth-watering desserts here.

Purple seems to be the accent color of choice this year! I do love how it provides a soft contrast to the bright oranges, blood reds and black that we often see. I might just have to make it a feature color of our Halloween spread as well…

Time for Fall Decorating – A Few Inspirational Finds

So the weather is finally feeling a bit autumn-ish around here and while we’re half way through fall I’m just beginning to put up decorations for the season.

I love this time of year! There’s nothing like hot cider, over-sized scarves and pumpkin patches to make my month.

Needing a bit of new inspiration, I headed to my usual virtual hot spots (Martha, BHG, Southern Living, HGTV and even Pottery Barn online vignettes) and thought I’d share my favorites.

I’m all about bringing the outdoors in with natural elements such as fall veggies (gourds, pumpkins and the like) and big branches. You might remember my ‘favorite trends’ post on branches here – but these ideas (above and below images) are just as magical. Plus, these branch examples will last well into winter since most are already dried and dead or faux.

Other inspiring ideas:
1. Filling extra vases, bowls and cake stands with fall leaves, pine cones, gourds, seeds (dried pumpkin, split pea, yellow rice, etc make great vase fillers) and even corks popped from the holidays
2. Hanging orange paper lanterns (extra points if they have black construction paper cut out jack-o-lantern faces on them) in both indoor and outdoor spaces
3. Using pumpkins for more purposes than carving – I love the simple house number paint job the above pumpkins received or the ornament versions hanging from branches (manzanita would be sturdy enough to support them)
4. Wrapping die cut shapes or faux fall leaves around candles or candle holders with twine (real dried leaves would be a fire hazard)

Now I’ll get back to decorating… can’t wait to find more ideas and to begin working on the above!

Tasty Treats for a Weekend Full of 4th of July Fun

When I was little, it was always my job each year to make a patriotic red, white and blue dessert… I don’t know how this little tradition came about but as a 12-year-old I loved taking on the daunting responsibility of baking my own treat for two dozen or so family friends! Thinking back to those years {and after oohing & ahhing over these photos} I’m thinking it might be fun to tackle the job again.

Our 4th of July now is typically reserved for a long day at the beach complete with volleyball, fireworks and marshmallow fights (true event – the whole beach brings bags of marshmallows for tossing across bonfires as soon as the night ends. It’s innocent and fun but what’s it like to wake up with melted marshmallow in your hair? gross).

Here are a few mouth-watering desserts that are catching my eye this year. Thanks BHG for all of the lovely inspiration! From Berry-Lemon Nepoleans, Raspberry Custard Brulee to Cheesecake Parfaits and Panna Cotta di Casa there are too many choices…

I’m tempted most by the Berry Pudding Cake, above, but might resign to a more beach-friendly alternative like Poundcake and Strawberries shaped like stars or pre-made plastic cups full of Red, White & Blue Parfait. Oh yum.

Mouth is watering… maybe I’ll have to make one each night until the big day…